Identify some similarities between Plutarch’s image of Cleopatra and the other ancient or modern sources – both visual and literary – that you met in the unit. Do you think that this passage has influenced later depictions of Cleopatra?
Reputations
The aim of this assignment is to test your understanding of some of the key terms, concepts and approaches that you encountered in the first half of Book 1: Reputations. It will help you to develop the skills needed to work with written texts and visual images from different cultures and periods. You have three options for this assignment. You should answer two of them:
Cleopatra
Mary, the mother of Jesus
Elizabeth I.
Each answer should be no more than 600 words. General guidance
You should start by reading through each option and deciding which two questions you are going to answer. Remember that this assignment provides you with an opportunity to apply what you have learned from each unit to an understanding of a particular text or image. Although you are not being tested on your referencing skills at this stage, you should try to acknowledge where you have made use of other people’s work (such as a chapter from the module book) in your answer. If you are unsure how to do this, check the section on referencing in the Assessment Guide (Section 4). At this stage in your studies, you are encouraged to have a go – you do not need to worry about getting this exactly right. If you have not already done so, listen to the audio recording ‘Starting assignments’ (which can be found on the Assessment page of the module website). This provides a brief overview of what to expect in TMAs 01–03.
Option 1 Cleopatra
Read the text below, which is an extract from Plutarch’s Lives. What can this text tell us about Cleopatra’s reputations?
Your answer should be no more than 600 words. She received a whole succession of letters from Antony and his friends summoning her to visit him, but she treated him with such disdain, that when she appeared it was as if in mockery of his orders. She came sailing up the river Cydnus in a barge with a poop of gold, its purple sails billowing in the wind, while her rowers caressed the water with oars of silver which dipped in time to the music of the flute, accompanied by pipes and lutes. Cleopatra herself reclined beneath a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed in the character of Venus, as we see her in
paintings, while on either side to complete the picture stood boys costumed as Cupids, who cooled her with their fans. Instead of a crew the barge was lined with the most beautiful of her waiting-women attired as Nereids and Graces, some at the rudders, others at the tackle of the sails, and all the while an indescribably rich perfume, exhaled from innumerable censers, was wafted from the vessel to the river-banks. Great multitudes accompanied this royal progress, some of them following the queen on both sides of the river from its very mouth, while others hurried down from the city of Tarsus to gaze at the sight. Gradually the crowds drifted away from the market-place, where Antony awaited the queen
enthroned on his tribunal, until at last he was left sitting quite alone.
Notes
‘Tarsus’: a city in the ancient region of Cilicia (Asia Minor), on the southern coast of modern-day Turkey. ‘Poop’: the raised deck at the rear of a sailing ship. ‘Nereids’: mythological sea nymphs, represented in Greek and Roman art as beautiful young women. ‘Graces’: mythological goddesses of beauty and charm.
Guidance for Option 1
Briefly describe the passage, with a particular focus on how Cleopatra is depicted in it. Make sure to include some brief contextual details for the passage, i.e. when and by whom it was written. You will need to think about these details
when considering what the text tells us about Cleopatra’s reputations. Note that you have already met Plutarch’s work in the module book, in Section 3.1 (‘Plutarch’s Cleopatra: the shameless seducer’). Try to identify some similarities between Plutarch’s image of Cleopatra and the other ancient or modern sources – both visual and literary – that you met in the unit. Do you think that this passage has influenced later depictions of Cleopatra? If so, how? It will also be helpful to consider whether there are any significant aspects of Cleopatra’s reputation, as studied in the module, which are not reflected in this passage.
Note that this passage also appears in the ‘Optional further study’ Section 7.2, so you may find it useful to read the comments and prompts there. Section 7.1 contains a link to an In Our Time BBC radio programme on Cleopatra, which you may also find useful.
